Warenycia, John

John Warenycia

I am dedicating my climb this year to the memory of Michael L. Bocchino and young Trucker Dukes. Michael Bocchino, a member of the FDNY, fell in service on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Centre. Trucker Dukes, an honorary member of the FDNY, passed in March of this year at age 3 from cancer. Trucker and his family have inspired firefighters from around the world with their brave battle against cancer. “Trucker Rides With Us”

Michael was the firefighter I represented when I climbed in the NYC 911 Memorial Stair Climb in March. While in New York, we met a firefighter from Honolulu who told us about Trucker. Trucker’s dad is a Firefighter from Maui, and Trucker loved everything associated with the fire service. His dad took him to a FDNY fire house while in New York for treatment and they totally took him into their brotherhood . He was made an honorary member of FDNY. The whole “Trucker Rides With Us” theme is exactly the message of Wellspring in that no one should have to fight cancer alone. That was what really captured my attention about the Trucker story.